The Hallyu Tabloid
by WaterMonkey
Summary: A Collection of EXO related shorts...
1. Time Square Mall

Time Square mall. Opened in 2009, it just so happened to be one of the largest malls in Korea. So large in fact that is also had: a hotel, a movie theater, additional department stores, and hundreds of other shops. There is even a glass observatory tower that stretches up five floors. People have told stories of being lost in it's maze of neon lights and clothes for days, and this was where he wanted to go. Here.  
I gave Baekhyun my best 'are you insane?' face, but it was overused at this point. He knew he was crazy, and he loved every moment of it. What good would it do to remind him?  
"This was your surprise? A trip to the mall?" I asked suspiciously as I hopped out of the back of the van. He came around from the other side holding a ball cap and face mask; standard public costume.  
"Come on, it will be fun. When's the last time you went shopping?" He teased and waved off our driver before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards one of the underground entrances.  
"I mean, it's been a minute, but Baek-" I tugged on his arm, "No one is supposed to know about us."  
"Come on, it'll be fine. No one will recognize us." He continued smoothly as we climbed the stairs from the parking garage to ground level. I was glaring at him, so I didn't notice the change at first, but when I glanced up, I had to stop in my tracks. Even though it was my first time here, I'd been in Korea for awhile, I'd seen plenty of Asian architecture...but I still wasn't prepared for the sheer massiveness of it. The main lobby of the mall was the size of an american football field, inlaid with milky white marble. On every side for five stories was balcony after balcony of store fronts. Amoris, CGV, Nike, ZIOZIA, and Zara, just a few of the names I recognized, with a host of more that I didn't. Baek was right about one thing, it had been a long time since I'd gone shopping.  
My earlier glare was replaced with an ecstatic grin, one I assumed he was mirroring, although I couldn't see his face under the mask. Insert hyperactive montage of the two of us skipping from store to store, dressing each other up in ridiculous outfits, trying samples of smoothies and roasted nuts, letting the independent stall owners thread our eyebrows and tell me I needed to take better care of my skin. We snuck into the back of a Chinese movie that I couldn't understand a single word of, but Baekhyun would lean over the divider and whisper what they were saying into my ear. His breath on my neck was fiery and I was at least glad it was dark, so he couldn't see the massive blush spreading on my face. In terms of dates, it was possibly the best one I'd ever been on, and it was worth all the waiting I'd had to do for him to come home from tour. Now I had him all to myself...for the most part.  
Between the Forever 21 and Bean Pole, I spied a photobooth in the middle of the hall. We didn't have very many pictures of us together, mainly because it was a liability, but perhaps he would make an exception since today was special. I pointed it out to him and he nodded it was okay. We squished into the small booth and pulled the curtains tight on both sides, hoping that the thin fabric would somehow keep the EXO-L's at bay. The stall was tiny, so I was practically sitting in his lap. I hoped that maybe the pictures would take in black and white so he wouldn't have photo proof of my bright red face. When I looked back to see if he was ready, I let out a surprised laugh. He still had the mask and hat on, like he was going to smile through it. Without thinking, I reached up and unhooked the mask from his ears. It was only when I pulled it away and exposed his face that I realized how close we actually were. Our noses were nearly touching and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his when the first flash of the camera went off.  
Four left.  
Slowly, he reached up and dragged the hat off his head, showing off his caramel colored hair. Honestly, it had been so many colors, I hardly cared what it looked like anymore; I just liked when he shook it out and patted his head, the innocent gesture that masked his kooky smile. He was my Baekhyun now, no hiding, no pretending we didn't know each other. My hand crept up to his chin and traced the line of his jaw. It was a face I hadn't been able to touch in weeks and I suddenly couldn't stand the thought of letting go.  
Flash. Three left.  
His hands were wrapped around my waist, but they had been so light I didn't notice them. Now, with every passing moment, he tightened his grip on me, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.  
"I'm really glad you're back." I managed to whisper.  
"I'm glad you were still here when I got back. I know it's been really hard for you. Especially while I was away." He returned, holding me even tighter. There was a certain sad sincerity to how he said the words, like he knew how devastatingly true they were, and how helpless he had been to do anything about it.  
"It was hard," I admitted, "but it was worth it." Our foreheads touched and I closed my eyes, cherishing the feeling of having him so close to me.  
Flash. Two left.  
That was the one, I was sure of it: the perfect picture of us. I'd frame it, blow it up, engrave it on my heart, make copies and throw the stack from the top of the highest building in Seoul, so that everyone would know he was mine. Realistically, we knew we couldn't hide our relationship forever, but there were some things we were not equipped to fight just yet, SM being one of them.  
When I opened my eyes again, he was still looking at me, his eyes darting back and forth over my face, as if he was trying to memorize every freckle and line.  
"You should take a picture," I joked, "it will last longer."  
Flash. One left.  
"Is that..."  
"It's Baekhyun!"  
"Oh my god!"  
Screams suddenly erupted on one side of the booth and we both jolted out of whatever moment we had been in.  
"How did they know it was you?" I cried and jumped off his lap. To our misfortune, neither of us had apparently noticed the video screen on the outside of the booth that showed what pictures were being taken. There were more screams and I heard the distant sound of over-eager high school girl feet running our direction. Baek quickly put on his mask and was pulling down his hat when the curtain was ripped open and nine million cell phones were shoved inside. He tried to stand to shield me from the cameras, but the booth was too small for the both of us to be up. There was nothing that could be done, no amount of damage control was going to fix this. So I grabbed his arm, kicked through the other side's curtain that didn't seem to be cut off yet, and dragged him into the nearest store.  
The rabid gang of Dongsaengs were hot on our heels as Baek and I dodged around clothes racks and between mannequins. In a stroke of pure luck, the store next door was a Weeny Beeny, a candy store with two entrances. Baek grabbed my hand and pulled towards it. As we sprinted in, he flipped open one of the dispensers for the giant jawbreakers, sending dozens of giant balls of sour candy spilling onto the floor, causing the rabid fangirls in front of the assault to slip or skid to a halt, then bottlenecking the rest from following us.  
I let out a whoop when we looked back and realized we were somehow in the clear, but kept running just in case. Before the girls could recover, we ducked into UNIQLO, a casual clothing store. Without acknowledging any of the shop attendants, I grabbed a shirt from a display that we passed and then raced straight for the changing rooms.  
A man was coming out of the room at the end of the hall, holding up a shirt for his girlfriend to see, when Baek and I jumped in and slammed the door shut.  
"Sorry!" I called to them through the door when they both exclaimed their surprise. "This shirt is super important and we're in the big hurry!" The couple seemed to accept the excuse and leave, grumbling about young kids and how we have no sense of privacy.  
For a moment, I braced myself against the door, thinking I would have to hold it shut while Baek called for help...but no one ever came.  
"I think we actually lost them." I whispered, hardly believing it. Baek sank heavily onto the bench and leaned against the mirror on the wall.  
"For now."  
"If we waited for awhile and called the driver to be ready for us, I bet we could get to the garage without being seen." I planned, cracking open the door just a hair to see if the coast was really clear...which, it was.  
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Baek teased. His voice was much closer than it had been and when I turned around, he was right in front of me.  
"Uhh, uhh-" I stuttered and tried to take a step back, only to realize that my back was against the door. Baekhyun slowly took the last step forward and we were nearly nose to nose again. It was not unwelcome, of course, just merely...unexpected. Plus I was panting from having to sprint across a mall that was bigger than a football field, but it probably didn't even get his heart rate up. "We could watch a movie on my phone." I blurted the first thing that came to mind. In one swift movement, he tore off his mask and hat, and I realized he was grinning at me devilishly.  
"Netflix and chill?"  
"T-That is not what I said!" I stuttered, and then chided myself for stuttering.  
"I kinda like the sound of that." He smirked and placed both hands on either side of my head, like we were straight out of a K-drama. A giant knot pulled tight in my stomach as he looked me up and down, but no matter how incredibly sexy his growl was, we were still-  
"In a dressing room, though?" I glanced at the four purple walls surrounding us, and then at my own bright red face in the mirror opposite me.  
"Are you going to tell me I can't get undressed in a dressing room?" He cocked his head at me, knowing he had me, that impossible face that he knew I couldn't resist.  
Without listening to my fumbled response, he happily pulled my jacket off one of my shoulders, and then the other. It landed on the floor behind me, and he was already untucking my shirt from my jeans. Even though I was flustered, my body started to take over. My arms found their way to his shoulders, lifted high enough for him to pull my shirt over my head, revealing a bra that I had never planned for him to see me in. At the moment though, I hardly cared. My fingers nimbly started to unbutton his shirt as he tossed my blouse and grabbed my hips, pulling me to him. Bending his head, he planted hot kisses under my ear and down my neck, leaving a trail of fire that made my knees want to buckle.  
I said fuck buttons and tore his shirt open, sending little black disks flying and exposing his chest and abs. He took a step back to survey the damage to his shirt and then back up at me with a storm in his eyes.  
"Chill it is."  
Baekhyun grabbed my hips again and lifted me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Our faces met in a clash and I wasted no time in biting his bottom lip, making him hiss and letting me explore every inch of his mouth that I wanted. It wasn't enough though, and I grabbed a fistful of his hair.  
"Oh hell yeah." He moaned into my mouth and dropped to the bench with me in his lap so he could free his hands. He was just sliding up to the clasp on my bra when a loud pounding on the door caused us both to jump.  
"Excuse me? We only allow one person per room. One of you will have to wait outside." A woman's voice said from the other side of the door. Shirt man and his girlfriend had probably told an associate about our room abduction. I covered Baek's mouth before he could respond or groan.  
"Alright, thank you." I said, and then waited for her footsteps to fade before looking back down at Baek. He was grinning like an absolute fool.  
"You. Me. Marriott. Now." I ordered and dismounted, grabbing my shirt and jacket. Time Square mall. One of the largest malls in Korea. So large, in fact, that it had a hotel.  
The walk of shame between the dressing room and the store entrance was hardly something I couldn't handle. All of the attendants were whispering to each other behind their hands, but it wasn't like I didn't know what they were saying. And it wasn't like they didn't know what we were doing.  
 _Someone_ was being loud after all.  
I shot Baek a sour look, but I could tell that even under his mask he was smirking.  
Thankfully, the hotel entrance was on the same floor that we were, it just took some maneuvering to avoid any clusters of young girls. The hotel had the same milky white marble in the lobby that was used throughout the whole mall, but slowly began to transition to a dark wooden tile. If the attendant behind the desk noticed our lack of luggage, she didn't mention it, she only smiled and ignored the name on the credit card that Baekhyun used.  
The sun was starting to set when we entered the elevators that would take us to our room. Baek leaned against the back wall while I clicked the button and hopped from one foot to the other.  
"Do you have to go to the bathroom first?" He joked when the doors slid open. I popped my head out to check and make sure, but the hallway was empty.  
"No," I huffed and grabbed his shirt front, dragging him towards our room, "I just really need you to be naked right now."

The real challenge was getting the key card in the door. Every time I tried to insert it, Baekhyun would come up from behind me and slide his hands around the rim of my jeans or dip below my waistline, sending chills up and down my whole body. There was no aiming with him setting fires over my skin! Once we were finally in our respective room with the door shut, I grabbed him by his ripped shirt and slammed him back against said door. His eyes lit up with an intense, almost sex crazed look that caused my insides to go slick, and I grabbed the back of his neck with a new urgency. He needed to be on me right this instant! Our lips met in a passionate frenzy and I felt his hands slide around the hem of my shirt. Then he pulled it over my head, using the time I was distracted getting rid of it, to grace my neck with a hot trail of nips and kisses. His hands returned to my body where he cupped my breasts and tugged at the fabric of my bra.  
"Watch yourself." I moaned distractedly with my head tilted back, "Do you know how expensive bras are?" I didn't want my favorite comfy bra to end up like his shirt. And I still regretted not wearing a cuter one on our date! What was I thinking?  
"Fuck it," He growled and reclaimed my mouth, "I'll buy you a few new ones while we're here." His hands snaked up my back and released the clasp, exposing me to him for the moment he took to look. My hands were preoccupied as well, though: one was still tangled up in his hair for leverage, while the other had found it's way down the front of Baekhyun's jeans, palming him through his clothes. He let a satisfied moan pass his lips; Those beautiful lips that I needed to feel all over my body.  
Even though it should have unnerved me to think of how we were discovered, the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted to mark my territory. SM was going to try and play it off, EXO-L's were going to start conspiracy theories, my friends were going to tell me to quit while I was ahead, but...no. This was finally my chance to let the whole world know that Baekhyun-  
He was mine.  
So I pulled his head to the side, exposing his shoulder, and sucked a large hickey on his neck. At first he started to object, probably defaulting to the same self-preservative code we had been living by for a year, but then his body melted against mine in submission. There was no need to hide anymore. Whatever marks we left on each other didn't have to be covered up or excused. He could say, 'Yeah, (Y/N) got a little excited at the mall)', and the rest of the guys would laugh. Because it was normal for him to have a girlfriend who could please him. It was not normal for his agency to micromanage.  
We stayed tangled there for a moment, standing in the middle of the room, mouths and hands exploring each other, removing any clothing still left on our bodies. Then he started to push me backwards, towards the giant king size bed I had requested. My legs hit the mattress, but Baekhyun continued moving forward, using his body to push mine down until he was kneeling over me.  
"Damn," he whispered as his fingers traced over my naked figure, "I want you so bad."  
"Prove it," I dared, and that same seductive smirk from before crossed his lips again. He slid his hand between my legs and moaned when he felt how wet I was.  
"Good to see that I still have this effect on you." He teased and I told him to shut up, closing my eyes and moving my hips in rhythm with his fingers.  
When he decided he couldn't take it anymore, he lined himself up with my entrance, running his tip along my slit a few times, just to see how eager I was. I tried to grab him and egg him on, but he moved around my arm, tickling me in all the places he knew I couldn't handle.  
"Baek..." I mewled and arched my back. It just wasn't nice manners to get me half way there and then play around with me.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," He grinned when he suddenly slid himself in, causing me to gasp, "Was this what you wanted?"  
His pace was slow at first, as he continued to skim his hands all over my body. He loved to play this game: where would he go next? And as much as I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was quite distracted. But I didn't have to wait long to find out the answer, as he pulled one of my legs up and placed it over his shoulder. I cried out slightly as he was able to fill me even deeper, which made him quickened his pace. One of his favorite things was to hear me moan. Every thrust pushed me further and further to the edge of my threshold and the fire building in my core. I knew that I was not going to be able to last much longer before my orgasm would spill from me.  
"Baek... I'm... I'm gonna..." I tried to tell him, but he knew.  
"Look at me." He begged in a strained voice, and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me with an unbearably steamy look. He sped up his thrusts until I was screaming his name at the top of my lungs, maintaining eye contact, and watching as he came the same time I did.  
We rode out the high before he slowed his pace and, breathing hard, pulled out and collapsed to the bed beside me.  
"Maybe we should just stay here tonight." I mumbled, dragging the tip of my finger up and down his side, grinning at the goosebumps that followed.  
"Can we stay here forever?" He said, but his voice was muffled by the bed sheets.  
"This mall does have everything." I said matter-of-factly.  
"Oh!" Baek suddenly hopped off the bed. "That reminds me." He tip toed over to his strewn pants and pulled out his cell phone.  
"What are you going to do with that?" I asked, sitting up.  
"I'm pretty sure the fangirls stole our photos, so I need to replace them." He explained as he clicked to the camera on his phone. I let him snap a few pictures of me posing on the bed, before I demanded that he come and lay with me. In bed, we held the camera above our heads and waved at anyone who was going to try and stop us.  
Flash.


	2. The Red Carpet

The dress was brave. Much more so than I ever felt, in uniform or otherwise. The chiffon skirt draped down over my toes like a mystic black waterfall, and only attached to a front piece at my waist. My back was completely exposed, something I had been insistent on, but was now scared of. The silky black fabric continued on my sleeves that cuffed at the wrists, giving a sort of 'I Dream of Jeannie' look. And then of course, the gaudy yet magnificent shoulder epaulets decorated with silver studs to match the boys' extravagant military attire for the night.  
This was seriously the last time I ever listened to Cat or Moon Jae.  
"This dress is probably a gagillion dollars. I don't know why I'm even wearing it." I hissed through my teeth as Cat slipped one of my feet into a glossy yet sensible wedge heel.  
"Uh, it's a gagillion won. Get it right." She snarked up at me, ignoring any and all discomfort I was feeling. It wasn't exactly her style to be reassuring.  
"Why can't I-" I began to complain for the hundredth time as to why she elected herself for covert duty and I was stuck with prance patrol, but she cut me off with an icy glare.  
"Because you got yourself shot...like an idiot." She snapped. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from firing back, not wanting to retaliate while on comms with the rest of the security team. They were beginning to be used to our bickering, but I didn't think even they would condone a full blown sass bash during duty. Cat slipped the other heel on my foot and then stood back to survey her work. It wasn't really like she'd done anything but the shoes, everything else was Moon Jae's artistry, but that wasn't going to stop Cat from taking all the credit. "You look alright." She nodded to herself. She had a talent for mood swings; one moment she would be stabbing you, the next she'd be telling you that red really was your color. Sometimes it felt like playing Russian Roulette, never knowing which pull of the trigger was going to make her snap. Her outfit for the night was a slick and tight fitting tactical suit. I pointed out to her that she was not, in fact, the Black Widow, and that there was no need for such a get up, but she ignored me. Like always. But between the two of us, we both knew which I would rather be wearing.  
The door to the dressing room swung open without a knock and Moon Jae came swirling in like a sparkly tornado. I swear she'd never frowned a day in her life.  
"Ohmo! Dangsin-eun neomu yeppeuda!" She exclaimed and skipped around us, swishing fabric here, tucking a hair there, making sure the makeup that I hated wearing was blended properly. Even though she was only a Stylist intern, I had a feeling she was stuck at the bottom of the totem pole because no one knew how to manage her insane energy.  
"I'm gonna go ahead and guess she thinks you look okay, too." Cat dodged as much hairspray as she could, making her way to the door to get out of Moon Jae's path.  
"She said I look pretty." I translated for her. Even though I was nowhere near fluent in Korean, I was picking up more and more everyday. Cat, on the other hand, was perfectly content to remain on the other end of an interpreter. "At least someone does." I added with a mumble.  
"Oh yes, let's go ahead and pretend that none of those testosterone sacks is going to want to jump you the instant they see you." She snorted, leaning against the door, arms crossed.  
Trigger, slide, bang.  
"Can you please not refer to them as hormone sacks? They are good guys, you said so yourself." I lectured, half ignoring Moon Jae's instructions, and half listening to the scrambled voices that suddenly sparked in my ear.  
"Sounds like it's starting." Cat smoothly avoided my reprimand and pushed off the wall, holding one finger to her ear. "Are you 'bout done?"  
"Kkeutmachin?" I asked Moon Jae, who I had lost sight of somewhere around the back of my skirt. She crawled back in front of me and held up her fingers in an 'OK', grinning from ear to ear. I probably botched the pronunciation and she didn't want to be rude by correcting me, but I brushed it off, putting my finger to my own ear in order to hear the voices from my comm better.  
"It'd be great if they spoke English." Cat commented as she opened the door for me and we made our way into the hallway.  
"It'd be great if you learned their language first." I returned absently.  
"It's not like any of them would talk to me if I did."  
"That's because you stabbed Hoo Min on your first day!" I exclaimed, to which she turned up her nose, like she would neither confirm nor deny that the poor first year guard had to get five stitches thanks to her. We padded down the corridor, her super comfy Vibrams soundless next to the click and slap of my heels. Near the end, we would part ways; Cat would make her way into the concert hall via the service entrance, and then slowly progress up to the catwalks, watching the show from above. We called this 'covert duty' because it was unofficial, and only one of the two of us ever took up the position. Some 85% of shootings in venues such as concert halls take place in the rafters above the stage. With Cat in the nest, wearing all black in the darkness of the scaffolding, she'd be undetectable, and therefore able to put down any attempts before anyone ever noticed something was off. It was my preferable position, but at the moment, like Cat had so delicately put it...I wasn't really able to scale the rafters like the Black Widow tonight. Not with the two holes in my back still aching like there were ice picks sticking out of my ribs.  
No, my job for the night was 'Prance Patrol': Walking with the boys on the red carpet, or just behind them to avoid the cameras. We usually assigned one of the new guys to walk with them since it wasn't a high stakes position. To my knowledge, no celebrity had ever been shot on the red carpet, but tonight was special. Chief Soo wanted me to make an appearance and put any rumors that I was out of commission to rest. Even though, technically, I was still no where near field ready. Two shots to the back had severely limited my range of motion. I couldn't lift anything or roll at all. As a Marine, I told myself to buck the fuck up and keep going, but that was just not how Koreans did things. I was seriously so tired of being told to 'get some rest', and of no one understanding that my Drill Sergeant would have put me through four PT tests by now. And then I would have to explain what a PT test was, and at that point I would give up. But there would be no giving up tonight. Even though my back hurt like hell and I didn't know how exactly I was supposed to run in these wedges should I need to, I was going to strut my stuff for all of Korea.  
When Cat and I finally reached the end of the hall, she turned to me one more time and gave me a last once over.  
"Still okay?" I asked, fingering the fabric of my skirt.  
"Acceptable." She shrugged, but from her, 'acceptable' meant stunning. Surrendering to her mysterious ways, I turned towards the double doors that led to the street with a smirk, while she turned the opposite direction towards the back alley. "Oh, and Hasa?" She shouted when I was at the end.  
"Hmm?"  
"Don't let any of those hormone buckets touch you." She ordered snobbishly.  
"They've graduated to buckets now, have they?" I laughed and waved her off. I mean, if she could ignore my advice, I could ignore hers.

Kyung Hee University's Hall of Peace is the massive red and wood paneled masterpiece that has had the honor of hosting the Golden Disk Awards twice now. The building itself looked like it was styled after the Notre Dame de Paris, with its white marble and stain glass windows. To me it looked like an LDS temple, but I kept that to myself. A mile long red carpet had been rolled up to the double door entrance, lined with the entirety of Korea's paparazzi population. The photo backdrop was a mixture of sponsor logos, like: The Star-Asia, Lotte, JTBC2, Sheraton Hotels, and Union Pay. There was already a line of vans and limos stretching down the lane, waiting to drop off their idols. The faculty offices across the street had been turned into auxiliary space, to be used by people like me and Moon Jae, who came to stand behind me. I stared at the crosswalk between the two buildings for a minute, like it was a rickety bridge I didn't want to cross.  
"Ginjang doeni?" Moon Jae asked happily. Was I nervous? Absolutely. But I smiled at her reassuringly and then forced my feet down the steps.

Kim Jongdae followed after Baekhyun obediently as EXO marched up the red carpet as a group. They paused in front of the sponsor wall and smiled for the million bright flashes that caused him temporary blindness. Nothing he hadn't done a hundred times before. In all honesty, he hated award ceremonies, they always gave him so much anxiety. But where SM said to go, he went. A little further down the walk was a chevron shaped platform and a standing camera for interviews. Junmyeon steered them towards it and gracefully accepted the microphone offered to him by the MC. It was his job as leader and hyung to be the speaker, and for that, Jongdae was thankful.  
They lined up as practiced and bowed in unison. After that he sort of drowned out the interviewer and Junmyeon's responses. He wasn't usually asked to speak, that was more reserved for Baekhyun or Chenyeol; his brothers who loved to talk. They had just gotten to the album questions when he heard the shouting. It was one of those things that he could pick out of any crowd of noises: the syllables of her foreign name that rolled around on his tongue.  
"It's Harper Hasagawa!"  
"Look here!"  
"She's out of the hospital!"  
Jongdae spun around instantly, searching for her usual messy bun and too big flak jacket. But to his astonishment, a bombshell came sauntering up the red carpet steps, wearing Harper's face. Her dress was high collared and misty black, making her look eerily beautiful. Her hair was pulled up tight into dozens of braids that swirled into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she carried a clutch studded with a thousand sparkling diamonds that twinkled under her black fingernails. She was as regal as she was terrifying, and she matched their own style concept to a T. He knew he was seeing Moon Jae's work, but somehow he just couldn't believe it. That wasn't the Harper that they knew, the Harper who burped in his face or punched Chief Soo in the gut. The goddess walking towards them was some sort of miracle, one he was absolutely not prepared for.  
The MC stopped his line of questions midway through to turn the camera towards her approach. Up until now, she had seemed confident in her walk, although he sensed a familiar fearful tension in the way she was clutching her purse. But with the camera on her, she faltered.  
"Mrs. Hasagawa!" The reporters shouted. They looked like a sea of gaping fish, writhing behind the photographer line in waves. They seemed ravenous for her, and Jongdae's stomach twisted at the sight. Nervously, she bit her black stained lip, making eye contact with each EXO member before finally falling on him. Her green eyes lingered on him for a moment longer, before she slowly started to turn in the recognizable model circle.  
And then he saw them.  
The dress had no back, and when she turned, everyone could clearly see the two discolored dents in her flesh. They looked smaller than the ones he saw in his nightmares, but somehow, these seemed worse. It was like they were on display, outrageously obvious and undisguised. One just below her right shoulder blade, and the other at her left waist line. How could she wear a dress like this? How could she show them off for everyone to see? For a daunting moment, he thought he might be sick. Her blood had sprayed all over his face, and now she was revealing the aftermath to anyone who wanted to look.  
And everyone wanted to look.  
His knees suddenly buckled and he wasn't able to stop himself from crumpling onto the step. Immediately, Junmyeon and the rest of his brothers started to him, alarmed. But she came too, and all he could do was ball his hands into fists and brace them against his knees. They circled him, cutting him off from the squirming cameras and the loudmouthed MC, who was shouting for a paramedic.  
This was no good. Looking this weak was only going to start rumors for the company. EXO-L's were going to bleed from the woodwork, accusing SM of abusing another member into exhaustion, when in reality, they had been getting better. Better because she had stood up for them when no one else would.  
Harper slowly, painstakingly, bent down to his level, hugging her knees and looking up at him through her eyelashes. She seemed to know that he was more furious than anything else. She seemed to know it more than he did. Why was he so mad, anyway? She had always done whatever she wanted, how was this any different? His knuckles were going white and his arms were shaking, but his eyes could only burn into hers. She met his intensity with calm, and like she dumped a giant bucket of water on his fire, he eased.  
"You need to let it go." She said quietly in English. "This anger and guilt. Throw it away, because it doesn't belong to you." She reached out and took his fist, weaseling her fingers in between his. "Understand this, Kim Jongdae: I would do it all over again, I would do it a hundred times. Although at that point, I would probably look like swiss cheese." There was a snort from above their heads, and Jongdae glanced up at Kai, who was quickly trying to hide his smirk. "I would rather have these than you have them, do you know why?" She asked him, but didn't wait for his answer. "Because bullet wounds are damn sexy."  
That garnered a few more chuckles and some shuffling feet from the others. He knew they should wrap this up quickly, they were on the red carpet for heaven's sake...but he just kept staring at her.  
"What is it?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "What's so wrong with people seeing them?" He wanted to scream at her, demand to know how she was so proud of them. They were wounds! They were scars! They were his nightmares! Her, vaulting towards him as the shots propelled her into his arms. Her blood covering the front of his shirt, Baek screaming her name at the top of his lungs. Those memories were not things to be proud of! "They're a part of me now, that's just how it is, and I'm okay with that. You need to be okay with that too. These...they're not your fault." She tapped out the words on his knee to emphasize her point. "It's my job to protect you, and that's exactly what I did. How can you be so furious that I did my job well?"  
He hated her logic, hated the fact that it was true and understandable. Harper was a body guard, and by definition, wasn't a body guard someone who guards with their body? She had thrown herself in front of fire for him, and if she didn't regret it...than how could he?

Shakily, he hissed out a sigh in defeat. Taking the surrender, Harper reached for a hand to help her up, and Jongdae felt the familiar arms of his brothers lift him to his feet. The onlookers began to clap, like he was a sports player down on the field, and a paramedic arrived outside the circle of members, but was waved away. He didn't have the type of tools necessary to repair a shattered ego.  
"Moon Jae." Harper called, and the hyper stylist came bounding up, hip purse swinging.  
"Come with me, Chen!" She beamed and grabbed his arm, not waiting for him to consent. The girl dragged him out of the protection of his friends, and he was immediately blinded by the flashes again.  
"Chen will be alright," He heard Junmyeon tell the MC, "we've just been so busy with tour that he forgot to eat a healthy breakfast. He'll be ready to perform after some food." The reporters seemed to accept the excuse before he lost sight of them completely.

Baekhyun watched silently as Chen was dragged into the hall, and Harper squeezed his hand extra tight. He'd gone for her arm before she even asked for help, not caring who saw. But now, as the excitement died down and EXO continued to walk the carpet, he knew he had to let go of her. As blandly as he could, he released her hand. But, unable to let go of her completely, he replaced it on the small of her back, as if to escort her forward. It seemed like a platonic enough thing to do, a small gesture between coworkers. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye but didn't comment as they finally made it inside.  
The first person to approach them was Chief Soo, who went straight for Harper with vengeance.  
"What the hell, Hasagawa? What did you do to him?" The manager barked in Korean. Baek was about to intervene, but she quickly apologized, even though everyone knew she'd done nothing wrong. Without any further explanation, Chief Soo whisked Harper away to the security office, most likely to continue yelling at her. As he watched her leave, Baekhyun rubbed his hands together nervously, only to find them oddly sticky. Glancing down, he noticed a brownish cream covering his palms. He flagged down a nearby stylist and asked for a hand wipe. When she saw him cleaning off his hands, she immediately went digging in her bag.  
"Here," she handed him a small disposable pouch of liquid foundation. "If you got it on your hands, that means you'll need to apply more. Try not to touch it until it dries." He thanked her hesitantly and stared down at the sample. He knew for sure that he hadn't touched his face, and he never wore that much anyway. The only other person he touched had been Harper.  
Harper's back.  
Baekhyun internally groaned as he tossed the sample. He'd have to deal with it later though. Right then, he had more pressing matters than her pride.

The performance they gave that night turned out to be one of their best...somehow. Between Trot Record of the Year and the Artist Popularity Awards, EXO had performed 'For Life', and their era signature, 'Monster', both of which were heavily dependent on Chen's high notes. The other members had been hesitant to let him go through with it (this was the entire reason they had understudy parts, after all), but Chen declined. He said he would do it, and he did. It was like whatever fire Harper had managed to put out on the carpet, had reignited on stage. His singing was stronger, his dancing was bolder. Everything about him exuded a gallant desperation that only those on stage with him could see.  
When the last note of 'For Life' strummed, Baekhyun couldn't tear his eyes away from Chen's face, or the tears sliding invisibly down his cheeks. Of all his brothers, Chen had never been the emotional one. Chenyeol or Kai, absolutely. But Jongdae always knew how to compose himself, it was something Baek had always admired/hated about him. But it was also something he couldn't let anyone else see; So he hooked his arm around Jongdae's head and pretended to joke with him as they ran off stage, setting up for the next act. Chen didn't protest and allowed himself to be escorted to the dressing rooms, surrounded by the other members.  
That night, EXO won three awards: the Ceci Asia Icon Award, Disk Bonsang, and Disk Daesang. And each time they went on stage, a different member would hang back with Jongdae...just to be sure. Sehun, Xiumin, and Kai somehow managed to carry him through the night, forcing him to give aegyo and hearts to the fans, while also shielding him from any unnecessary attention. Baekhyun had to admit that this was probably why they were so successful as a group. It wasn't SM, or their musical ability-it was because they were a group of genuinely decent guys who had become brothers. They would do anything for each other, and it was a sign of trust that Jongdae let them lead him through a hard time.  
And unfortunately, it helped that Harper didn't return.


	3. China for the Loss

The squad of Chinese soldiers came out of nowhere. One minute, Cat and I were walking through the lobby, discussing the plans for later that day, and then BAM-full blown confrontation. Zhang Yixing had come sprinting over the black marble from the back of the building, waving us down, shouting at us in Mandarin, even though he clearly knew neither of us spoke it. An instant later, Cat and I were circling Lay, our arms outstretched in a desperate attempt to keep the seven soldiers from shooting us. They were wearing greens, unfitting of urban combat, but right then, I didn't really have footing to critique their camo choice. They were all yelling at us, most likely to stand down...but we didn't speak each other's language. I screamed at them to calm the fuck down in English, and then Japanese, just to see if it would spark any minds. I even tried Korean, broken as it was, but none of them acknowledged my plea.  
The seconds that it took for the situation to develop, only took a minute more for it to escalate. The rest of EXO, having heard the shouting came sprinting down the stairs from the training rooms on the second floor. Baekhyun was right up front and calling my name, but I demanded he stop. I was so desperate for him to remain out of harms way that it came out in Japanese, the language of orders, what I used when I needed authority. He skidded to a stop on the landing and gaped at me, now even more concerned. He knew me, he knew that I would never order him around like my men, and the fact that I had-he saw my fear.  
I felt more than saw Cat switch her footing from defensive to offensive. Even though she thought none of us knew about their relationship...we all did. Lay was her property, and if I didn't do anything, the Chinese army was going to find out the hard way that you don't mess with Catalina's toys. I wracked my brain for an answer, anything, tactical or otherwise. Was there even a way out of this that didn't involve a firefight? We didn't even know what they wanted-  
There you go, Harper: Ask them what they want!  
My arms sank down to my sides and I pulled myself out of my fighting posture.  
"Hasa..." Cat hissed from the other side of Yixing, but I ignored her. Instead of looking at their hands or their guns or feet, my eyes went to their collars-the patches. Which one was the commanding officer. It wasn't like they came and left him in the car. None of the men in front of me were any higher than the next, according to their ranks, so I went around the circle. Cat nearly had a panic attack as she circled opposite me, desperate not to let anyone take advantage of an opening. "Hasa!"  
Half way around the circle, I spotted a soldier with a higher rank than the others: stars instead of stripes.  
"You," I pointed at him and held out my hand flat, "Give me the warrant." He didn't move at first, only stared at me evenly from under his standard issue cap. "Give me the warrant!" I yelled and slapped my own hand, as if to say 'put something there'. Language barrier or not, some universal gestures were still understood.  
He knew I wanted something that he had, something that involved the Chinese national I was protecting from them. So, slowly, he holstered his handgun, nodding to his men to do the same. In my head, the only thing I could think was that 'holy shit, I somehow disarmed that situation', but I also knew that there would be a second part to this. Just because they put down their guns did not mean they wouldn't take them up again when I didn't hand over what they wanted.  
The officer retrieved a bundle of paper from his pack and slapped it in my hand, eyeing me as he did so. I gripped and pulled, but he didn't let go, and we were stuck for a moment in a heated stare down. Almost every fiber of my being was scolding me for not breaking the contact. He was an officer, I was an enlisted, he outranked me, I should submit. But I was a Marine, and his People's Republic was not going to stop me from protecting what was mine.  
Finally I pulled the papers from his grasp and, not bothering to look them over, handed them off to Yixing. Speaking Japanese and Korean was one thing, but reading any of those characters? Forget about it. He took them hesitantly, eyes darting from one soldier to the next, but Cat turned her back to the line and stepped closer to him.  
"Find a way out of this, Lay." It was possibly the most intimate thing I'd ever seen her do. She was not a hug and kiss kind of girl. She kicked ass. She killed people. She did not beg them to stay. She did not wait for a political solution.  
It was a welcome transition, although, at the moment, I could have used her wet works more than her submission. Yixing nodded to her and unfolded the papers. To me it just looked like a giant block of Chinese writing. Did he read it up to down, or right to left? Who fucking knew. All I could tell was that, the more he read, the more concerned he became.  
"Yixing!" Kyung soo yelled from the balcony where, not only EXO was watching, but the entirety of SM entertainment had gathered. Even the Chairman was starting down the steps, and I wanted to ask where the hell he'd been for the last ten minutes. But none of that mattered when Lay held up a hand to halt his approach, and to silence his brothers.  
"I have to go." He whispered to himself, or maybe to Cat.  
"What? No! Why?" She rasped and snatched the papers from his hand. She stared at them fruitlessly for a moment before shoving them back at him, demanding to know what they said.  
"Cat..." I made an attempt to calm her down, but she seemed to be coming more unhinged by the second.  
"No! How can they just come and take him! This is his home!"  
"No, actually...it's not." I said. Cat reeled a bit more, and thankfully, the Chinese Captain ordered his men to give her some space. He seemed to understand that he would get what he wanted, and that I would have to deal with any repercussions.  
Yixing handed me the warrant and then tried to close the distance with Cat, who was only retreating more and more. Distraught as she was, I feared we were about to hit the bullet in our game of Russian Roulette. He tried to take her wrist but she yanked free, and her fury laser focused on him.  
"What a spineless bastard! You're not even going to fight it!"  
"Catalina..." He murmured her name as she continued to back away. Her words didn't seem to affect him, although there was the slight chance he didn't know what she was saying. Her Colombian accent liked to emerge when she was angry, sometimes to a point where no matter what she said, it sounded like she was cursing me in Chibchan.  
"No!" Her hiss started to sound suspiciously like a sob, and my stomach sank.  
"Catalina." He mulled again, but she threw up her hands, a defensive and desperate posture.  
"You're going to leave, just like him!" I started forward at the mention of 'him'. There was not a single good thing that could come from her bringing up her father, not here, not now, not ever. She hated him, absolutely loathed the man, and if she was going to lump Lay in with her family, there was no telling what she would be willing to do to get away from him.  
I managed to take two long strides before Yixing held up a hand in my direction, signaling for me to stop. I didn't want to, as he probably didn't know how much danger he was suddenly in (Chinese military aside), but he turned to look at me for a moment, and I saw in his face that it didn't matter. His eyes told me that no matter what, he was going to get through to her or die trying. So I backed off.  
"Catalina, I have to go back. My people are demanding that I return." He explained to her as best he could in English.  
"Why?" She shifted her glare from Lay to the Chinese soldiers behind him, probably assuming that they were 'his people', and that maybe if she got rid of them, everything would go back to how it was.  
"I am not sure, but you know as well as I, that politics between China and Korea are falling apart." He took one step to the side, as if to call her attention back to him. For all his innocent demeanor, I never would have thought that Yixing understood how to manipulate a situation like this: centering her focus, using her name repeatedly, advancing only if she allowed it. Or perhaps he just knew Cat well enough to know that she had a feral side, and that angry animals hunted by line of sight.  
"Yeah, and if you leave now, you may never be able to come back." She growled. She seemed to be going through these stages: desperate, furious, distraught, feral...at least one of those was a typical stage of grief. The rest, well...it wasn't like she had a normal enough childhood to develop healthy coping mechanisms.  
Lay seemed to falter for a moment, knowing that she was right. If he went with the soldiers now, they would detain him and deport him. They had done it before after all. But after a moment of consideration, he seemed to come up with an idea. I could tell the exact instant it came to him because all the tension seemed to leave his shoulders, like he'd found the solution to fix all the world's problems.  
"So come with me." He asked and took a big step forward, portraying his sincerity as best he could with his hands. It seemed to snap Cat out of her demented stupor, because she blinked and gave him a full up down, like whoever she had been speaking to before had suddenly changed into someone else.  
"I can't, I'm-" She blurted, but he deflected her.  
"Yes, I know. You're banned from China. Come anyway." Even though his back was to me, I imagined that he was probably grinning at her. That, admittedly, sexy smirk that would have worked on me once upon a time. I don't know how he knew, but he seemed to understand that one of the only things Cat had ever wanted was to be considered. Her mother had abandoned her and Afton when her father was arrested, leaving their father to barter them off to the United States government as wards. And anyone whose ever turned on a television knew that wards of the state were little better than pieces of meat, barely worth the check their foster parents got. No...not a day in her life had Catalina's opinion been taken into consideration. That was why she said whatever she wanted, to whom ever. Because she believed that it didn't matter anyway.  
But this...this was a choice. Lay was giving her the option.  
He had to go, there didn't seem to be any way around that. But whether or not she followed him...he was leaving it entirely up to her.


	4. My CEO

My heart was thumping in my chest as the police officers babbled on and on in Korean, barely even looking up at me from behind their desks. Gwen was a crumpled rag doll in the chair, her hands cuffed and her eyeliner running down her face in silent tears. She was a shell.  
"Please, you have to listen to me. Don't you have an interpreter?" I tried getting their attention again, hoping that at least one of the detectives would listen to me. They couldn't press charges. We were United States Citizens. If they arrested my sister, she would be trapped here while I was deported, and then there would be no way to help her. He shook his head at me dismissively, saying something, again, that I couldn't understand. "Please-" I went to reach for him, but a commotion behind me caused me to turn on the group of men walking into the bullpen. My blood went cold when I recognized at least a few of the members of EXO and the CEO of SM Entertainment, Kim Young-min. Along with them was a team of scary looking lawyers who were probably bent on locking my sister up. They rode in like a phalanx of lions, and Gwen was the sacrificial lamb.  
Instead of speaking directly, one of the lawyers stepped forward and handed me his business card. Next, a perfectly groomed woman came to stand between us and graced us with a small, fake smile.  
"My name is Pae Eun-jeong. I am an official Korean to English interpreter. I will be assisting Lawyer Song in relaying his client's stance on the matter at hand." She delicately gestured to each party involved, and the thought crossed my mind that she might actually be a robot.  
"I'm Louisa, Gwen is my sister." I introduced myself tentatively. Without missing a beat, Miss Pae repeated what I said in Korean, and Lawyer Song dictated a response.  
"Yes. She informed us she called you from her holding cell. You flew from the United States?"  
"No, I was in Taipei, but it doesn't matter." I waved away their curiosity in me, "please listen to what I have to say regarding the charges." Behind the duo of law, I caught the CEO staring at me intensely, beady eyes that I didn't particularly like. And behind him, three members of EXO shuffled their feet and glanced around awkwardly. It was probably the first time they'd ever been in a police station.  
"Yes, the charges." Miss Pae nodded and passed me a booklet from Lawyer Song's briefcase. "Shall we discuss them now?"  
"Look," I tried to keep my temper in check, but they seriously just handed me a Korean document that I couldn't read, "I understand that things got a little confusing and heated at the meet-and-greet, but you of all people understand that it was just excitement. She didn't mean to hurt him, if she even did hurt him!" I gestured to Kai, who was lingering between Suho and Xiumin, the picture of health. His eyes met mine for a moment before he quickly looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.  
"All medical actions taken have been thoroughly documented in the subpoena-" Miss Pae pointed one of her delicate fingers at the damn bible in my hands.  
"Sure, but I obviously can't read this." I snapped, but quickly reigned myself back in. She didn't seem to take it personally, and gave me a moment to compose myself. "I apologize." I bent my head in her direction to show I was indeed sorry. "But you must understand where I'm coming from. My sister is a United States citizen. If she is arrested here, it will turn into an international incident, possibly even damage the relations between our countries."  
"We are well aware of her citizenship status, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do. She has broken the laws of the Republic of Korea."  
"So please fine her instead." I took a step forward, directing my plea at Lawyer Song. "We will pay for any damages or medical expenses, just please don't detain her."  
"We are sorry." Miss Pae bowed, although I wasn't sure who she was translating for. No one else seemed to feel bad about what was happening. I was handed her business card and then they turned to leave.  
Panic thundered in my ears as they ushered the boys towards the doors. If they left this building, I wasn't going to be able to save her. I started to go after them, but was cut short by the sob that suddenly ripped out of Gwen. Her silent tears were turning rueful and she was beginning to shake all over. I wasn't sure what she was more distraught over: the fact that she was about to be jailed in a foreign prison, or that she had hurt her idol. And then, it hit me.  
"Wait!" I demanded, and the lions paused. Directing my argument straight at CEO Kim, I said, "Use this for publicity." Miss Pae translated, and Lawyer Song tried to step up and intervene, but Kim waved him off.  
"CEO Kim would like to know what you mean by this." Miss Pae asked. I swallowed hard and accidentally caught the eye of Suho, who seemed angry.  
"My sister is sick. Anyone can tell that." I started carefully, gesturing back to her now sobbing form. "She didn't mean to hurt Kai. In fact, she adores him. She's even wearing his symbol on her necklace. She would do anything for him, so you have already bought her silence." Amber lion eyes drifted over to Gwen, where the silver pyramid charm hung from her neck. "Why not, instead of garnering more bad press, take this as an opportunity to make headway with the media."  
"How would you suggest we do that?" Miss Pae asked.  
"Drop the charges, send us on our way, and she will say nothing but what you tell her to."  
"And what would we have her say?" CEO Kim interjected in English, and everyone took a mental step back. What a power play it was to pretend not to speak someone's language.  
"Whatever would make SM come out on top."  
"Do you realize what kind of free reign you're giving by not offering up a suggestion? Do you understand the type of damage that can be done with such power? And seeing as we hold all the cards, why are you bothering to play?" He started to prowl in front of me, side to side, like he was eyeing me. He really was a lion.  
"In the eyes of the media, you have not done a single thing right since you took over in 2005." I stated, ignoring the sharp look from Miss Pae, who was now translating our conversation for everyone else to hear. "If you prosecute an American EXO-L, who loves those boys so much that she flew half way across the world to see them...you will be crucified for it." I pointed at Kai who made it seem like I'd jabbed him in the chest. "Wouldn't it be in your best interest to use all that free reign and power to play the cards in your hand?" CEO Kim took a moment to consider this, stroking his chin and looking me up and down. I hated the way he was staring at me, like he'd stumbled onto something fascinating, but there was nothing that I could do about it. If he was willing to let Gwen go, he could look all he wanted.  
Then, "Say I agree," He shrugged and my stomach did a back flip, "Would you be willing to sign a contract detailing your silence?"  
"What? Not me, her." I gestured to Gwen.  
"As you previously stated, your sister is not in her right mind, and therefore, not able to sign a legally binding agreement." Miss Pae interjected.  
"No, if I make this deal," CEO Kim took a step in my direction, making me take a step back, "it will be with you."  
Suddenly, there was a scream and a distraught Gwen grabbed a letter opener from the detective's desk and tried to stab herself in the wrist with it. Luckily, that same useless cop from before managed to grab her arm before she could cut herself, but the point was made. I launched myself back over to her where I tried my best to calm her down, but she was rambling and crying and shaking. She seemed so grief stricken, even though she hadn't actually hurt him. He was in the room, he was fine, but I guess it was just the realization that her idol thought she was crazy...so she became so.  
"Do we have a deal?" I heard CEO Kim ask as I tried to catch Gwen's flailing limbs. He was right about one thing at least: he truly did hold all the cards.  
"Yes." I growled.  
"Louisa!" Someone shouted and I whipped my head around to see an American soldier come sprinting into the station.  
"Oliver!" I called. His eyes found me and widened when he saw the state Gwen was in. He pushed his way through the EXO members and lawyers, jumping right in on holding Gwen down.  
"What happened? Are you alright?" He gaped at us.  
"No, but I'm handling it. Hold her." I ordered and detached. Oliver took over wrestling Gwen into submission, and she seemed to see him a little more than she saw me. I stalked back over to CEO Kim, but was intercepted by another US soldier, one I hadn't noticed come in after my friend.  
"I'll take it from here, young lady." The older man said firmly. Glancing at the stripes on his shoulder, I blanched at his rank. He stepped away from me and towards CEO Kim, who still had that smirk of finality on his lips, but I couldn't have another American tossed into this shit storm.  
"No thank you. I have everything covered... _General_." I jumped ahead and cut him off. The last thing I needed was for my bluff to be called by my own country. He cocked a grey-haired eyebrow at me, clearly thinking I was some idiotic tourist. To show him that I wasn't, I turned to CEO Kim and, putting on my best 'I-hate-you-but-I'm-dealing-with-you' smile, I asked,  
"What do you need from me?"  
Kim's glance slid from me to the General and back, before he tucked his hands behind him and nodded to Lawyer Song. I didn't think it was possible for him to be any more of a dick, but he really one upped himself when Miss Pae stepped forward and began to translate again.  
"You and your sister will accompany us to our agency where we will draw up a sufficient contract."  
"Now hold on right there," The General butted in, "No US citizen is going to sign a contract without a lawyer present."  
"There _will_ be lawyers present." Miss Pae returned evenly, giving him the same look he had given me: she thought he was as dumb as an American stump.  
I glanced back at Olly who seemed to have calmed Gwen down. There was only so much torment a girl could take.  
"With all due respect, sir," I did my best to hide my sneer at CEO Kim, "I don't think that's such a good idea."  
"Why not?" Miss Pae asked for him.  
"Anywhere near your... _employees_ , is the last place my sister needs to be. Taking her there would only be asking for more trouble, and just when we cleared everything up." I said the words through clenched teeth, hating the fact that I was playing his little game, and that I seemed to be playing it well. Although, that was usually the catch, wasn't it? You always think you're ahead, before you find out that you've actually lost everything.  
"Very well. You will come and your sister will remain here."  
"No! I'm not leaving her in a cell!" I cried.  
"Until the contract is made and its conditions met, your sister is a liability to herself and the people of Korea." I dragged my hands over my face with a frustrated sigh. Just when I thought I was ahead...  
"We'll take her." My eyes snapped up to the General. "As an American, we have an obligation to protect her. The girl will be transported to Camp Market under the authority of the United States Military until this contract is drawn up. When it's all said and done, we will then transport both girls to the airport where they will promptly leave this country. Are we clear?" As frustrating as he had been before, I was suddenly thankful for his being there. Johnson...his name was Johnson.  
CEO Kim and Miss Pae discussed for a moment before she turned back to me with that fake smile and agreed. To get the ball rolling, General Johnson ordered Oliver to take Gwen outside to whatever transport they'd taken to get here. Olly gently lifted her shoulders, and let her lean on him as much as she had to, before leading her to the door. As they passed, she grabbed my hand and looked at me for the first time tonight. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying so much, but it felt like she was actually seeing me now, meaning she'd managed to break through her fog.  
"Don't worry. We'll be home by this time tomorrow." I smiled at her reassuringly, hoping with her blurry eyes she wouldn't see the fact that I didn't even believe myself. Only after Olly had led her the rest of the way out, did the SM phalanx decide to roll out.  
The EXO members who had been in the back now went first, making the rest of us follow behind them. To my surprise, General Johnson matched my stride like he was going to come with me. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted him to, but if he was going to keep my sister safe for the time being, his presence couldn't hurt.  
Outside the station, Lawyer Song hailed us a cab and drove with us to the entertainment agency. The whole trip, I stared out the window, wondering how it had ended up like this. It was lucky that I was already in Asia when it happened. In fact, Gwen was supposed to meet up with me in Keelung after she finally met her favorite boy band...but she never made it. Then I got the call and I panicked. It was just so unlike her to do anything like that: she tackled him? Did no one see their height difference? How had she taken a guy twice her size to the ground? There were just so many unanswered questions, but one thing I did know was that her psychosis was real, and whatever break she had suffered was going to be long lasting.  
When we pulled up to the agency, Lawyer Song got out first and went around to open my door for me.  
"Tell me something." General Johnson whispered to me as the army of lawyers led us through the dark marble hallways of the building. It was all open and made of granite and glass, a testament to how much money it raked in from people like my sister. "What did you agree to?"  
"At this point, General..." I mumbled as the double doors of the CEO office were swung open and I had to look at his face again, "I'm not really sure myself."


	5. Skype Me

The skype ring sounded like a bunch of confused birds, but it was a pleasant sign; someone wanted to talk to me. I gently shut the door to the NEONATAL unit before skipping over to my desk and answering the call. It was probably Brooke...it was always Brooke. No one else would skype me at three in the morning.  
Alright, Jules, let's be honest.  
No one else skypes you.  
My office outside the nursery was small and old, a room they didn't bother to update along with the rest of the hospital. The walls were a pale green, and I debated cleaning the windows during my sister's call or after. All the babies in the next room were lined orderly in little rows of hope, and I'd memorized all of their names. It helped that they were in alphabetical order, but sometimes I just wanted to brag about myself. Baby Allison was on the far left, Baby Xander on the far right, and a sprinkling of all the other babies in between.  
I'd just finished my round of checking vitals and wouldn't have to do it again for another two hours, so I kicked off my tennis shoes and curled into the creaky pleather armchair at the desk. I propped my phone up against the stapler so I wouldn't have to hold it while Brooke went on and on about whatever she was calling to rant about, and swiped to answer. I reached over for my coffee, figuring she would just start talking even if I wasn't in the shot, but when I twisted back around, it was not my sister framed in my iPhone.  
His hair was a dark brown that slanted down across his forehead, leading to even darker almond shaped eyes. I will admit that it took me a moment to register that this was not my blonde hair, green eyed sister who flitted around the world like she was a butterfly in a meadow. But to my personal humiliation, it took a lot of squinting for me to realize just exactly who it was.  
"Uhhh...hello?" He said in a lilted English. He wasn't exactly smiling, but his face wasn't the must unapproachable thing in the world. It seemed like he was regretting this decision more and more with each passing moment. Maybe it was because I was gawking? I clamped my mouth shut with a click before swallowing nothing.  
"Hi." I managed. My voice cracked; I'd chide myself later.  
"Um...so..." His gaze swam all around the frame, like he couldn't stand to look at my awkward mug anymore, then he nervously scratched his face and let out a huff of a laugh. "This skype handle was in our history from when-"  
"Oh yeah yeah yeah." I chanted, attempting to play it off cool. Would he buy it if I pretended I didn't know exactly who he was, what his blood type was, and when his birthday is in comparison to mine? "From when my sister went to your concert. Hong Kong, right?" That was a real question at least. I had no idea where Brooke was when she went and saw their concert, just like I wasn't entirely sure where she had ended up since. She liked to couch surf from one country to another, living life to the fullest as she put it.  
"Hong Kong, yes." He nodded to himself and I caught him glancing off camera.  
"Are you still in Hong Kong?" I asked next. It seemed like an innocent enough question. Music lover, I was. Tour enthusiast, I was not.  
"No we are in...백현, 우리 어디야?" He suddenly switched to his native language and gestured to someone off screen. _"_ 말레이시아? 오.We are in Malaysia." He answered, switching back to English. Color me impressed.  
"That's cool. Are you doing another show?" I asked, relaxing a bit.  
"Yes, on the 18th of March." He seemed a bit more at ease as well, but I couldn't be sure.  
"The 18th? That's not for like, a week. What are you going to do until then?" I blurted.  
"I don't know," He brought his arms up in a shrug and laughed, "Sight see?" His laugh brought that smile to his face that'd I'd seen on tumblr. It was a childish, irresistible sort of grin that I caught myself mirroring.  
"Honestly, I don't think I could even name Malaysia's capital. World travel is Brooke's expertise." I admitted without really meaning to.  
"Brooke is your sister? The one who came to the concert." He asked while simultaneously adjusting whatever camera he was using so he could sit on a black couch.  
"That's her." I nodded and secretly tried to figure out where he was by the tiny corner of a poster above his head.  
"She was..." He started and then trailed off, rubbing the back of his head like he didn't know what to say.  
"Wild? Ravishing? Bloodthirsty?" I offered, although I wasn't sure I could translate that last one if asked.  
" _Nice_." He said finally and I sighed.  
"I guess nice works too." Brooke had always been a lot of things, and 'nice' typically was one, but after 25 years with her, I was more apt to use 'untamed'. I mean, what kind of person house sits for complete strangers half way across the world? Or tries food that she can't pronounce or even identify! And don't even get me started on her choice of friends. No, Brooke wasn't just 'nice', she was much more than that. Brooke was an explosion of chroma, a great cacophony of watercolor, all running together and getting everywhere.  
But me...  
I was the lines she was supposed to be contained within. If Brooke was an abstract, I was a geometric pencil drawing. Perfectly the same in every way, and drawn in a particularly easy medium to erase. I was nice. Just nice. Nice and easy.  
Brooke was radiant.  
"Kuala Lumpur."  
"What?" He jarred me from my train of thought.  
"The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur." He cocked his head at me, like he could see that I'd drifted off.  
"Oh...well the more you know." I cleared my throat to try and refocus myself. "What's there to do there?"  
"There are many mosques and temples to see, we may follow Junmyeon to one, or go to the towers." He listed, and I hopelessly wished I could use my phone to look up who he was talking about. This was the drawback of stage names. "And then we will probably spend a few days adjusting ourselves to the arena."  
"Do you have to do that in every city? I figured all stages would be more or less the same." I took a swig of my coffee finally and blanched when I tasted the cold, bitter grounds. He had started to explain the complexities of how each arena tries to outdo the next, with run way length, seating size, pyrotechnic allowances, etc. but he suddenly cut off at the image of my tongue flopping out of my mouth and my gagging.  
"Are you alright?" He let out a hearty laugh at my expense, to which I glared.  
"No! This coffee is horrible!" I cried and chucked it in the trash.  
"Well where did you get it?" He leaned back into the couch and I could see his loose jeans and baggy pink sweatshirt. It seemed like a casual day. If he was barefoot I would be thoroughly jealous of whatever weather I'm sure he was enjoying on those islands. As opposed to where I was, in freezing butt cold Pennsylvania.  
"From the cafeteria downstairs." I continued, getting up to grab a snack from my purse, but slumping in defeat when I couldn't find any.  
"Cafeteria? Are you at a school?" He leaned forward a bit, like those few inches were going to enable him to see more.  
"No, at a hospital." His eyebrows shot up for a moment, then I noticed him glance down at my scrubs and probably assume they were hospital robes.  
"Are you actually alright?" He asked more seriously, but it gave me an excuse to laugh at him this time.  
"Yes! I'm a nurse. I work in the NEONATAL unit on the night shift."  
"Oh, okay. Okay, good."  
"Do you want to meet the babies?"  
"Babies?"  
"Yeah, come on!" I grabbed the phone from the stapler holder and slipped into my shoes. I dimmed the screen as much as I could and punched into the nursery. It was fine as long as I didn't show him their names, but he didn't seem to mind. I flipped the camera around so I could see his face as I passed the video along the row of babies. They were all swaddled and sleeping contently. Some were hooked up to wires and leads, while others were in big glass boxes with gloved arm holes ready to be filled by doting parents. It wasn't really the most beautiful sight, but I loved them all.  
"What's wrong with them?" He asked when we got back to my office.  
"Lots of different things." I explained as I propped him back up on the stapler.  
"Where are the parents?"  
"Someone of them have their own rooms, some are sent home."  
"Without their babies?"  
"It's a matter of insurance."  
"How could their just leave their child?"  
"I guess it's a matter of perspective. Most of them are in here as soon as visiting hours begin and won't leave until they end. But until their child recovers, there's nothing they can do."  
"That's awful."  
"Well I didn't get into this profession for the romance of it."  
"Why did you get into it?"  
"To save people. To keep families together, or at least give them a fighting chance at having a beginning."  
"Their very lucky to have you watch over their children while they can't."  
"That's nice of you to say, but most have never seen my face. I'm strictly the night help."  
"Wait, night?"  
"Yeah, what time did you think it was? What time is it there?"  
"It's three in the afternoon."  
"It's three in the morning here."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I let you sleep?"  
"Fortunately for you, I don't sleep."  
"Oh," He chuckled, "Don't you get tired?"  
"I suppose, but I kinda like the solitude of it. What about you? Aren't you supposed to be promoting? It's mid afternoon, why are you skyping with strangers?"  
"Our show was cancelled and they said we couldn't leave the convention center."  
"Why?"  
"Our managers didn't say, just that something happened that made it unsafe."  
"Are you in danger?"  
"Not at the moment, I don't-"  
"But at least a few of you know Kung Fu, right?"  
"Kung Fu...really?"  
"Is that wrong?"  
"I guess Baek and Minseok know Wushu, but Zitao would have been the best one to have in a fight."  
"Who is Zitao? I don't recognize that name."  
"Tao used to be in EXO, but he left a few years ago. He lives in Shanghai now."  
"Oh, that must be why. I only found you a few months ago."  
"You found me?"  
"Although at this point, I think you found me."  
"I-"  
 _"_ 모두들, 가자. 우리 한테 공항까지 갔다. _"_ He quickly looked away from the camera to whoever was speaking. I couldn't understand them, but his brows furrowed as he nodded.  
"You have to go?"  
"Yes, they've found us a ride to the airport."  
"Wow, that bad, huh?"  
"Hopefully not."  
"Well, be safe."  
"Thanks-"  
"And call me anytime. I'm always up."


End file.
